Mr. Carroll Neal Kanipe, age 79, of Marion, passed away on Wednesday, August 16, 2017 at the North Carolina State Veterans Home in Black Mountain. A native and lifelong resident of McDowell County, Carroll was born on July 13, 1938 to the late Lawton Kanipe and Belle Gurley Kanipe. He served his country faithfully in the U. S. Air Force and was a member of the American Legion Post 56 in McDowell County. Carroll was a member of Cross Memorial Baptist Church. A long-time agent with Woodmen of the World Life Insurance Co., he also owned a number of different local businesses in Marion through the years. His contributions to Marion and McDowell County were many and included volunteering at the Senior Center with the Meals on Wheels program and also at the VA Medical Center in Asheville. Carroll was generous with his time and resources not only in his community but with his family. He was a great Dad and grandfather and loved his wife, daughter and grandsons deeply. The love of his life, his wife, Betty Sue, preceded him in death in May of this year. He was also preceded in death by a brother, Ken Kanipe and his wife Elva and a brother, Dean Kanipe.

Carroll leaves behind his daughter, Kim Kanipe Frisbee of Marion; two sisters, Irene K. Rayburn of Marion and Nancy Tate and husband Jimmy of High Point; a brother Steve Kanipe and wife Susie of Princeton, KY; and two grandsons, Caleb and Corey Frisbee and their father Robert ”Bodie” Frisbee.

A service in celebration of his life will be held on Sunday, August 20, 2017 at 3:00 p.m. in the chapel of Westmoreland Funeral Home in Marion with Rev Doug Prevette officiating. The family will receive friends from 2:00 – 3:00 p.m. prior to the service at the funeral home. Military honors will be provided by the U.S. Air Force. Memorials may be made to the McDowell Senior Center at 100 Spaulding Road, Marion, NC 28752, or to Cross Memorial Baptist Church at 15 Cross Memorial Baptist Church Loop, Marion, NC 28752.